The Enemy Is Real!

“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” Ephesians 6.12

    I think each one of us who are following Christ are aware that we are engaged in a daily battle. This battle is against an invisible enemy. Paul calls the enemy “spiritual wickedness in high places.” Simply put, we are engaged in battle with Satan every day. It’s like we have a bull’s eye on our backs and he takes aim at us every day – more than once a day. The good news is that we are not left to fight this battle without the Lord’s help.

    Let’s look at these verses: “Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. ¹⁴ Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; ¹⁵ And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; ¹⁶ Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. ¹⁷ And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: ¹⁸ Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;” In order to be victorious in this battle, the armor that Paul lists is necessary for us to put on every day. We must clothe ourselves in truth and righteousness. We must cling to the Gospel of peace. We must exercise our faith boldly to quench Satan’s attacks. We must protect our mind with the helmet of salvation – remember Whose we are. Finally, the sword of the Spirit is our ultimate weapon against Satan. We wrap all this up with prayer because we know that God is in control. Just my thoughts …

It’s God’s Word!

“So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.” Isaiah 55.11

    I don’t think most of us grasp the power of the Word of God. Isaiah’s words here give us some insight into God’s Word. God tells us that it (the Word) won’t return void. What does that mean? It means that it will “accomplish that which I please … ”  We need to be bold is speaking God’s Word. We need to be bold in getting others to read God’s Word. We don’t need to be concerned about what will happen. All of that is in God’s hands. His Word is POWERFUL not POWERLESS.

    “it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.” You don’t have to defend a lion. If he is in a cage, just open the gate and let him out. He will take care of himself. You don’t have to defend the Word of God. Just let it speak for itself. God said, “it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.” He wrote it. He will use it. Let its power do its work and see what God can and will do. Just my thoughts …

What Does God Think?

“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2.15

    Most people spend a lifetime wanting to be approved by people – anybody – just people. I think this verse casts a different light on the matter of approval. “Study to shew thyself approved unto God … ” This command changes EVERYTHING. Rather than spend a lifetime trying to be approved by others, how about we spend whatever time necessary to be approved by God? After all, He IS our creator and sustainer and provider and everything else we need. It only makes sense to seek His approval.

    The key to being approved unto God is to study His Word. There are two qualifying factors connected to our study. (1) we want to be a workman that needs not to be ashamed. And (2) we need to learn to rightly divide the Word of Truth. In order NOT to be ashamed, I must know what God’s Word says to me about my walk with God. Hence, the necessity of reading, understanding, and applying what we read. Another element related to m=not being ashamed is the ability to rightly divide God’s Word. That means that I need to be able to interpret what I read so that I can explain it when necessary. What does that require? I need to know WHO is speaking. I need to know to WHOM they are speaking. I need to know the CONTEXT in which they are speaking. And I need to know if there are any EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCES that have a bearing on what I am reading. We don’t need to be embarrassed to ask for help if we are struggling with “rightly dividing” God’s Word. All of us need help at one time or another. Don’t forget – it is God’s approval we are seeking – not man’s approval. Just my thoughts …

Thanks Be to God!

“But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 15.57

    I see three significant phrases in this verse: (1) thanks be to God, (2) who gives us the victory, (3) through our Lord Jesus Christ. Let’s take a closer look: “Thanks be to God … ” You will remember that I have mentioned before the need for us as Christ followers to give thanks to God for Who He is as well as what He does. That should be as natural (really supernatural) as breathing to each one of us. I believe these next two phrases should grab our focus and hold on for dear life. “(God) which giveth us the victory … ” I believe every one of us would agree that living for God daily is a struggle. Satan is going to see to it that we struggle. But the promise here is that God gives us victory. Listen friend, we all want to be victors, not victims. That is possible because of God’s willingness to GIVE us the victory we so desperately need.

    Now, how does this victory come? Paul tells us: “through our Lord Jesus Christ.” It does not come because we are smarter than someone else. It does not come because we are more spiritual than someone else. It does not come because Satan is afraid of us. It comes because Jesus Christ is our Savior. It is HIS choice to walk with us every day. It is HIS choice to defend us every day. It is HIS choice to sustain us every day. Whatever word you need to fill in the blank, HE is there and our VICTORY comes through our Lord Jesus Christ. Praise His holy name. Just my thoughts …

ASK!

“For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.” Matthew 7.8

    God issues an invitation to all of His children to ask, seek, and knock. That is such an all-encompassing invitation. There is no arena of our lives left untouched. God cares about EVERY element of our lives, whether we believe it or not, whether we understand it or not. To take this verse in context, let’s look at verse 7: “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:”

    Jesus has just told His disciples, “I am listening. I will help you find that for which you are looking. And if you are uncertain about which door is for you, when you knock, I will open the right door.” Don’t ever come to God and say, “I don’t think you are listening to me.” Don’t ever say to God, “You aren’t helping me find my way on this difficult path.” Don’t ever say to God, “I can’t find the right door.” For EACH ONE of these situations God has already said that He is ready and willing to hear us, show us, and open the right door for us. Sometimes we are so anxious to have our own way that we simply run ahead of God and wonder why He hasn’t already done what we need. Sometimes we just need to slow down, give the Holy Spirit time to provide the direction we need, and the spiritual perception to realize WHEN God is speaking and leading. Just my thoughts …

God’s Call on Us Is Eternal!

“Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, ³ According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: ⁴ Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” 2 Peter 1.2-4

    When I think about the man who penned these words, and all that he went through to get to this point, I want to pay attention to what he is telling me. He speaks to us of grace and peace and he has learned something about both of these truths. Then he proceeds to tells us that God has given us “all things that pertain unto life and godliness … ” What a thrill to know that everything we need to live for God is given to us by God. We don’t have to search for it or wonder where it is.

    This next verse speaks to us of “exceeding great and precious promises … ” These promises come from God and He has never broken a promise. So, what makes them so special? “that by these (promises) ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” We have the nature of God within us and because of that nature, we have escaped the corruption that is in the world. We still have to live in this world, but we do not have to be corrupted by it. God’s nature within us is able to deliver us from ANYTHING that would want to corrupt our walk with God. Let’s live today in light of these truths and rejoice in all that God has done for us. Just my thoughts …

Don’t Faint! Press On!

“For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.” 2 Corinthians 4.16

    If we go back and begin with verse 1, we discover that Paul is describing the value of our ministry, even though we are serving God in what he calls an “earthen vessel.” I want to call our attention to verses 8 & 9: “We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; ⁹ Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;” Paul said, “Look, we are pressed, but not pinned. There appears to be no way to go, but we found one. We may fall behind at times, but we are never left behind. And, we may be knocked down, but we are not knocked out.” Serving Christ has never been an easy task, no matter what others may tell us. But promises like the one given above will sustain us when we look to them and believe them.

    “The inward man is renewed day by day.” Because we have God’s Holy Spirit living within us, we have all the reserve power we need to keep the inward man renewed. We must never think that we can do all that God wants us to do in our own power. It doesn’t matter what the world may choose to put in our path, we faint not and the inward man is renewed day by day. That is God’s promise. Claim it! Just my thoughts …

Never Ashamed!

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” Romans 1.16

    What is the Gospel of Christ? 1 Corinthians 15.3-4 gives us the answer: “For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; ⁴ And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:” It is my prayer that no believer would be ashamed of the Gospel of Christ. Why should we NOT be ashamed? Because “it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth … ” you don’t know anyone that the Gospel does not have the power to save. Sometimes we may think that someone is too great a sinner to be saved, but according to this verse, there is no such person.

    We are not talking about something that man is capable of doing, because the Gospel is the power of God. You and I can have absolute confidence that everyone with whom we share the Gospel is capable of being saved. God’s power is that great and God’s love for sinners is that powerful. When Paul mentions the Jew and the Greek, he is including every group of people alive. The Gospel IS for everyone. Let’s be diligent about taking the Gospel to EVERYONE! Just my thoughts …

How Well Do I Know God?

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” Proverbs 1.7

    I’ve never met anyone who relished the idea of being called a fool. But I have interacted with many people over the course of my ministry who were unwilling to seek the wisdom that others might provide for them in a particular situation. To me, that makes absolutely no sense. Solomon here makes a clear distinction between the one who recognizes where real knowledge comes from and the one who despises wisdom and instruction.

    Let’s take a closer look at his words: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge …” Fearing God, as I have mentioned in the past, is not walking through life every day fearing that God will zap us with a bolt of lightning if we step over a line in disobedience. The fear of the Lord is recognizing Who God is, as much as our minds can comprehend. The more I know about God, the easier it is to acknowledge His sovereignty, accept His guidance, and accentuate His purpose in my life.

    Let’s not identify with those who despise wisdom … who don’t want instruction. Any time spent with them will be wasted time – time we could use learning more about God, the true source of knowledge. Just my thoughts …

“So Also Do Ye …”

“Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.” Colossians 3.13

    The easiest thing to do when someone wrongs us or hurts us is “nothing.” We may try to just let it go or forget about it. But Paul gives us the best instructions here in this verse: (1) forbearing, (2) forgiving, and (3) taking the right steps to clear things up.

    The dictionary defines forbearing as “politely or patiently restraining an impulse to do something”. Paul tells us to restrain ourselves from the impulse to do something. That may require some serious self-will on our part. Then he tells us to “forgive” the one who wronged or hurt us. Don’t mistake forgiveness as forgetting the issue or even trusting the one who has hurt us. Forgiveness is for us, not them. Forgiveness allows us to give our pain to God and to see that person as who they really are, not the offense they have caused.

    Paul’s basis for this action is found in the next phrase: “even as Christ forgave you … ” Realizing how much Christ has forgiven us should be a real eye-opener into the realm of our own forgiveness of someone who has wounded us. I believe most of us want to be as much like Christ as possible. Therefore, Paul calls on us to “so also do ye”, meaning forgive. The Christlike thing to do is forgive. Let’s seek to be as much like Christ as possible.